Zhou Hui stood expressionless in the unit’s ground-floor lobby, drenched from head to toe, covered in unknown digestive matter and disgusting yellow mucus.
Within a ten-meter radius centered on him, nothing stood. On the surrounding corridor of the second floor, people were packed three to five deep, craning their necks to look down, their gazes a mixture of curiosity, excitement, and immense delight.
“…” Zhou Hui roared in fury: “What the f*** are you looking at! One more look and all your salaries are docked! Get back to work!”
With a resounding bang, the crowd scattered like startled birds, their gossiping discussions converging into a joyous ocean.
Li Hu dashed down from the second floor, enthusiastically spreading her arms, her “human weapons” (a euphemism for her breasts) undulating wildly in the wind: “Aaaaaah—”
Zhou Hui swiftly dodged. Li Hu accurately brushed past him, latching onto Jia Louluo, who was just entering the main door: “Little—Handsome—Guy—!”
Jia Louluo was struck head-on by the “flesh bomb”, stumbling and nearly falling out the door. His chest was then violently squeezed by the “human weapons”, almost making him vomit his intestines on the spot.
However, Li Hu didn’t care. She pulled Jia Louluo back and forth, examining him with smacking sounds, her eyes sparkling with intoxicated delight: “Handsome guy! Haven’t seen you in years, handsome guy! When did you come out of Tibet? Tsk tsk tsk, look at this figure, these muscles, the snow mountains and plateau really do train a person…”
Jia Louluo, carrying a half-person-tall bag and with a three-thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox hanging on his arm, moved with extreme difficulty, step by painful step.
If only Zhou Hui were present, his appearance would have resembled a shabbily dressed migrant worker coming to the city to petition for unpaid wages from an unscrupulous contractor. But with the enthusiastic nine-tailed fox spirit beside him, excitedly exclaiming, “Handsome guy, your waist is well-trained and very impactful, isn’t it?” “Handsome guy, your biceps are great, very enduring, aren’t they?” “Handsome guy, your ligaments are good too, you can strike any pose, can’t you?”—the scene instantly transformed into a tragic story of a handsome, naive country boy coming to Beijing for work, being noticed by an empty and thirsty rich woman, and unfortunately being deceived in heart and body, becoming a male prostitute.
Jia Louluo struggled forward, enduring countless strange looks from passersby, finally arriving at the fourth basement level. At the end of the corridor was Zhou Hui’s office. Zhou Hui was nearly driven mad by the vomit covering him. Upon entering the door, he only managed to throw out, “Don’t touch my stuff!” before heading straight into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of gushing water could be heard.
Jia Louluo stood at the office door, looking up at the thousands of red threads hanging from the ceiling, and asked, “Isn’t this the Qiankun Array?”
“Yes, it is.” Li Hu walked generously into the office, casually pulled a Phoenix cushion from the sofa, twisted her waist, and leaned on the armrest. “Your dad has now become a lowly white-collar worker, earning a meager living working for humans, you know? To be honest, I saw his salary slip last quarter, it was truly pitiful. What are you here for? To ask your dad for living expenses? Don’t bother, he has no money.”
Jia Louluo: “No, I…”
Li Hu said, “Call me ‘Gege,’ and I’ll give you pocket money.”
Jia Louluo: “…”
Jia Louluo rubbed his forehead, walked to the sofa, and sat on the far end, away from Li Hu.
“Don’t sit so far away,” Li Hu immediately crawled over coquettishly, complaining, “Why are you so distant now? When you were little, what haven’t I seen? When your dad beat your brother and your mom went to break it up, I was the one who played with you. Things like feeding milk, coaxing to sleep, changing diapers, flicking your little dick when you were naked, pink little skirts with lace bows…”
Jia Louluo said expressionlessly, “That never happened.”
“Oh yes, it did! It’s a pity that back then, intimidated by your mom’s dominance, I didn’t dare to draw you jumping naked on the surface of Dongting Lake.” Li Hu actually looked quite nostalgic. “What a loving time that was! Honestly, your older brother was just too annoying, which made you seem well-behaved. In an ordinary family, you would also be a probationary juvenile delinquent…”
Jia Louluo unconsciously thought of Maha parading around Hell, but the next second, he forced himself to erase that demonic image from his mind.
It’s common for children not to like wearing clothes, he thought. At least I haven’t let anyone see me naked since I turned a hundred.
Zhou Hui finally finished showering and changed into a shirt before Li Hu could thoroughly strip Jia Louluo. He came out, wiping his wet hair, and looked down at his son.
Jia Louluo sat on the sofa, calmly looking back, his elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlaced, strong, bony fingers exposed from his half-gloves.
—His demeanor actually carried some of the Phoenix’s aloofness, a sense of detachment brought by powerful divinity ingrained in his bones. However, the Phoenix had been mellowed by tens of thousands of years, while Jia Louluo, at his age, displayed more of a silent rebelliousness.
Zhou Hui narrowed his eyes, seemingly a little displeased. A moment later, he tossed some clothes over. “Go shower and change.”
“…Why?”
“I’m taking you to a meeting.”
Jia Louluo picked up the clothes and went to the bathroom. The sound of water running stopped and started again, and three minutes later, he opened the door and walked out.
Zhou Hui’s clothes fit his son perfectly: a white cotton short-sleeved T-shirt and well-tailored brand-name jeans, accentuating the young man’s lean physique and handsome face. He no longer looked like a migrant worker or a Tibetan artifact dealer entering the city. If he walked through a university campus looking like this, he should attract many hot gazes from girls.
Zhou Hui’s gaze lingered on his son’s short hair, which naturally stood up without any hair gel, looking very stylish. There was a hint of confusion in the depths of his eyes; he was clearly wondering where these genes came from.
“Wait, don’t wrap it yet! Let me take a picture first!” Li Hu jumped off the sofa, holding her phone, and snapped 360-degree photos of Jia Louluo with rapid clicks. She quickly opened WeChat and started posting on her Moments: “Okay, you can wrap it now.”
“…” Jia Louluo wrapped the bandage around his face in circles. “What is that?”
Zhou Hui said, “A cult that wastes time and life. Are you still so afraid of sunlight?”
“I’m allergic in the human realm. Why is Beijing always foggy?”
Zhou Hui walked out of the office and headed towards the conference hall on the upper floor of Unit 547, followed by his mummy-faced son and his sister-in-law, who was engrossed in her phone. Passing by an outer window, he glanced at the hazy sky, rubbed his chin, and said, “Hmm… actually, it’s immortal energy.”
“You don’t recognize him, do you—you foolish humans, hahahaha! Oh, no wonder you don’t recognize him. This child has a tragic and convoluted background. He’s the illegitimate son that Boss Zhou abandoned in his rural hometown back in the day!!!”
Li Hu, with a gleeful expression, held her phone and spoke into the WeChat group:
“You all know that Boss Zhou was a ‘Phoenix Man’ who married up to a true phoenix, a poor loser who married a rich and beautiful woman and thus achieved a comeback to the peak of his life, right? The Phoenix Man faced immense psychological pressure from his rich, powerful, talented, and beautiful wife. Then, one day, he got complacent, turned ruthless, secretly found a mistress, and had an illicit affair. Who knew he’d make a mistake and she’d get pregnant? Ten months later, this bastard child was born!!!”
Zhou Hui: “…”
Li Hu’s boisterous laughter echoed throughout the entire Unit 547 building:
“Phoenix Four, in a fit of rage, ran to Hell and found his ex-boyfriend, the Demon Lord, who still remembered their old affection. Then he decisively sent Boss Zhou divorce papers! Their eldest child developed psychological trauma during those years when his parents were fighting over the divorce! Boss Zhou committed bigamy and had an illegitimate child, feeling too ashamed to face the Party and the people. To keep his public office, he could only abandon the child in his rural hometown, putting him on ‘shelving play’ for eighteen long years! Now, that mistress who waited foolishly for eighteen years without being officially recognized is finally dying! Her dying wish was for this illegitimate son to come to Beijing to find his father, just to ask Boss Zhou: ‘Do you still remember Xiaofang Xia from the village stream that summer?!'”
From the phone, Yan Lanyu’s bewildered voice came from the WeChat group: “I… I didn’t watch TV when I was little in Japan, but why does this plot sound a bit familiar?”
“Oh, love, what is love? It makes everyone plagiarise. The story of a cheating man finding a mistress is always similar, my little beauty!” Li Hu said with great emotion: “Now that illegitimate son traveled all the way from the impoverished mountain area to Beijing to find his father, enduring wind and dew on the long journey, almost starving to death halfway! He finally managed to pick up scraps and save a few bucks to buy cold water and steamed buns, and then he got pickpocketed at the station! He was begging by the roadside and almost got arrested by the police station as a terrorist! Hahahahahahaha, how miserable!”
Zhou Hui: “…”
The indignant voice of Shenwan Tiansi came through: “How can this be! Unfair to the original wife, unfair to the child, and deliberately abusing the illegitimate child! How could they let him starve to death?!”
Situ Yingzhi said, “Aiya, Li doesn’t understand. It’s always very difficult for a child to come knocking to acknowledge their father. So, men just need to manage their lower halves well. We vampires never have affairs, mistresses, or second wives; it would be so miserable…”
“True love! True love, listen to me, I won’t have a second wife either!” Shenwan Tiansi immediately confessed loudly to Yan Lanyu: “Although in the two-dimensional world I have a whole harem, you are my only true love in this three-dimensional life!”
“…” Yan Lanyu said tactfully, “I’m still young and want to focus on my studies. I don’t want to date so early…”
Yu Jingzhong’s cold voice resonated in the group: “Comrade Shen Wan, please mind your influence. You’re a monk. It’s good enough that you get to eat potato chips and drink cola. What’s a harem?!”
Li Hu was absolutely delighted, standing at the conference room door and pushing it open.
Around the long, round table, Yu Jingzhong stood directly in front of Yan Lanyu, holding up a Naruto manga. Shenwan Tiansi was jumping on his toes, trying his best to reach it. Situ Yingzhi was recording the little living Buddha with his phone, looking as if he was about to upload it to YouTube. Wu Bei, with a bandage on his head, an 1.88-meter tall cool guy from Northeast China in a black leather-trimmed Burberry trench coat, was intently scrolling through Douban on his phone.
Zhou Hui said, “Ahem—!”
Everyone stopped their actions and looked over.
Zhou Hui walked steadily into the conference room under everyone’s gaze, standing at one end of the round table.
“The main purpose of calling this meeting today is to propose a second encirclement and suppression of the Four Evil Paths.”
He pointed to Jia Louluo and said coldly, “This is my and the Phoenix’s second son, the Golden-Winged Great Roc Jia Louluo. He has brought some news about the Four Evil Paths’ preparation to release death qi in the Human Realm to refine a large number of living corpses. We need to respond quickly within these three days. You can consult him with any questions.”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Jia Louluo’s face, filled with naked, undisguised suspicion and curiosity.
Jia Louluo froze in place, facing the crowd. After a moment, in dead silence, he firmly said, “I really am the Phoenix’s son.”
This was Zhou Hui’s second proposal for an encirclement and suppression of the Four Evil Paths. Unlike the previous time, which was an active offensive aimed at sealing the Demon Lord, this was a defensive battle against the invasion of death qi.
The sea of death qi released by the Subduer of All Evils and the Snow Mountain Goddess in Beijing once caused massive unrest, even stirring considerable panic among high-ranking officials. Therefore, as soon as the words “death qi” were uttered this time, the top brass immediately ordered strict defense. Midway through the meeting, Yu Jingzhong even received a personal call from a certain leader in Zhongnanhai.
Zhou Hui did not let Jia Louluo participate in the entire meeting; he only had him introduce the Demon Lord’s movements and the information provided by the Phoenix, then sent him out to wait.
But as Jia Louluo sat outside the conference room, he could still hear Zhou Hui’s voice from inside.
Before, although he didn’t say it aloud, he always felt that his dad was a bit unhinged, like there was something wrong with him. It wasn’t until today, when he calmed down, that he realized Zhou Hui wasn’t as foolish as rumored.
He spoke clearly, his thoughts were logical and distinct, and his analysis of problems was very comprehensive. He even gave the impression that he had planned everything long ago, just waiting for the right opportunity to implement his strategy.
This showed that his father’s true nature was actually very reliable—after all, he was a man who, despite his humble origins as a Blood Sea demon, almost dominated the Four Evil Paths and ultimately stood as an equal to the Heavenly Dao and the Great Demon King.
Jia Louluo waited outside until the meeting ended. When Zhou Hui emerged, he looked down at his son sitting on the steps from the corner of his eye.
“Where are you staying tonight?”
“…I don’t know.”
Father and son confronted each other for a moment. Zhou Hui said expressionlessly, “The property deed has your mother’s and my names on it, so theoretically, harboring you would require charging rent…”
Jia Louluo asked, “Did you really have a mistress and an illegitimate child?”
“No!”
“Then who do you plan to leave your inheritance to, Maha or me?”
Zhou Hui: “…”
“Since it’ll eventually be given to me anyway, why charge money for staying one night in advance?” Jia Louluo stood up, hoisting his old backpack, and stomped the dust off his feet.
Zhou Hui stared at his son in astonishment. The latter returned his gaze with an open and composed expression.
Boss Zhou found no words to retort for a long time, an unpleasant feeling of being convinced welling up inside him.
Zhou Hui thus took his second son home. That evening, father and son ate takeout at the same dining table, both feeling a profound sense of absurdity.
This was probably the first time in thousands of years they had eaten at the same table with just the two of them. Jia Louluo hadn’t been around for the “good old days” when Zhou Hui fed his eldest son vodka mixed with chili sauce. After Jia Louluo’s birth, the Phoenix had strictly controlled infant diets, often personally cooking elaborate Manchu-Han imperial meals for babies, then patiently and lovingly feeding them to the two little chicks bite by bite.
After Maha went to the Thirty-Three Heavens to cultivate Buddhism, Jia Louluo always ate with the Phoenix. For a long time, he was somewhat afraid of his father—this supposedly very powerful, cruel man, a Blood Sea demon by origin; this father who never showed affection to his children, as if subtly harboring wariness and caution.
The duplex luxury apartment was brightly lit. The dining table was solid mahogany, and the floor was so polished it reflected like a mirror. Although two people dining always made sounds of chopsticks clinking and spoons touching bowls, those slight noises only emphasized the silence and awkwardness, as if even breathing was conspicuously loud.
“…Where do you plan to intercept the Demon Lord in three days?” Jia Louluo finally asked.
Fortunately, Zhou Hui didn’t ignore him, merely saying, “The location is still being investigated.”
“If Mother truly kills the Demon Lord and intends to give the Great Demon King’s divine status to Maha, would you…”
“That’s the Phoenix’s business.”
“You wouldn’t stop him?”
“Would stopping help?”
Zhou Hui finished his rhetorical question, not expecting an answer, and stood up, taking his empty bowl to the kitchen sink. At this moment, Jia Louluo unexpectedly spoke from behind him, asking, “Your encirclement plan at the meeting today was very complete. It seems you had planned it in advance. Did Mother tell you something before I arrived?”
He asked this purely because he knew Zhou Hui only sealed the Demon Lord to appease the Heavenly Dao and hadn’t really taken it seriously. However, in the meeting today, his plan to completely kill the Demon Lord Brahma and eliminate future troubles was very mature, suggesting it had been considered for a long time in advance.
Was it because of the Demon Lord’s resentment over stealing his wife?
Jia Louluo vaguely hoped Zhou Hui would give such an answer. He hoped Zhou Hui would show more care for the Phoenix, as it seemed that if he did, the possibility of Zhou Hui not breaking up after the Phoenix returned would be greater, and the formal integrity of this family could be maintained a little longer.
However, Zhou Hui said nothing. When Jia Louluo mentioned the Phoenix, there wasn’t even a hint of emotional fluctuation.
“I paid for the food; you wash the dishes.” He casually tossed the empty bowl and chopsticks into the sink. “After you’re done, grab a blanket and sleep on the sofa.”
Jia Louluo, of course, did not sleep on the sofa. The duplex apartment had four large bedrooms, and he slept next to Zhou Hui’s.
He was actually no longer accustomed to sleeping on high beds with soft pillows. For hundreds of years in the snow mountains, he had slept in caves, beneath cliffs, sometimes merely in a sheltered spot behind a large rock. When blizzards were too fierce, he would transform into a golden-winged great roc, burying his head in his thick wings, feeling little of the ice and snow’s chill.
Jia Louluo tossed and turned on the Simmons bed, finally waking up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep anymore. He lay quietly in the darkness for a while, thinking of his mother and brother who were currently in the Demon Realm. After a moment, he finally rose lazily, shuffled into slippers, and went to the toilet.
However, as soon as he stepped out, he saw that Zhou Hui’s bedroom door opposite was not closed, but slightly ajar, revealing a warm, orange-yellow light.
Zhou Hui was facing away from him, sitting in an armchair, seemingly examining something carefully.
Jia Louluo quietly walked to the door and narrowed his eyes. The keen eyesight of a raptor allowed him to see that his father was holding a phone, and on the screen was a selfie—Zhou Hui was lying in bed, fast asleep, while the Phoenix nestled in his arms, holding up the camera with one hand and making a peace sign with an emotionless expression.
Jia Louluo froze.
“Where are you going?” Zhou Hui suddenly covered the photo and asked loudly.
“To… to the toilet.” Jia Louluo strode into the bathroom, closed the door, and leaned against the door panel, letting out a soft sigh of relief.
